To Roll with the Punches
by travelingmonkey
Summary: What is an up and coming chef supposed to do when her world gets flipped upside down by the King of Hell himself because of something her family did back in the 1500's? Find the Winchesters of course. Join Carter and her ever faithful dog Jewel as they're force fed the red pill and shoved down the rabbit hole into a world that is truly Supernatural.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_The white walls of the hospital were too bright. As though they had collected the rays form the sun and now reflected the left over energy. Scrubs passed by in a flurry of motion with no real direction._

**_Confusion._**

_"I'm sorry Ms. Sandrovitch, but she's not going to make it." The doctor had no face. He spoke after that but his words were muddled and blurry._

_The crying faces of everyone in the funeral home stared back as one woman stood at the thin podium. The coffin to her left. One of her mothers pictures had been blown up and stood in one of the corners._

_"I don't understand." She spoke slowly. "My mother isn't dead." Every face shot her looks of sympathy before she was ushered to one of the pews._

**_Sorrow._**

_The floor was made out of black and white marble along with the tall walls. The large furnace was a good meter bigger then the group of people standing in front of it. Everyone surrounded the dark cherry wood coffin, placing white lilies on the top of the coffin. Men in suits started to push the coffin into the raging fire of the furnace._

**_Anger._**

_Carter knew. She knew her mother was sleeping in the coffin. Why were they putting her mother in the fire?_

**_Panic._**

_"No! Stop! MY MOTHER IS IN THERE!" She lunged after the coffin that was fully submerged in the flames. Her hands found purchase on the metal rods along the side, but the wooden box was far too heavy._

**_Desperation._**

_"MY MOTHER IS IN THERE! MY MOTHER IS IN THERE!" She continued to wail as her arms stayed in the fire. She had to get her mom to safety. She just had to._

_Soon enough she was drawn away from the fire by her older brother before he threw the damaged sibling to their oldest sister and slammed the door shut to the furnace. Carter then crumpled on the floor, still in her sisters arms as she let out an inhuman wail. _

**_A cry of loss._**

Carter's eyes flew open to escape the retched nightmare, but it was of no help. Her nightmare kept showing images while the scream that came out of 'her' mouth was on constant replay. Tears started to stream down her face while her body stayed absolutely still. As if to sympathize with her without knowing to do so, she felt the nudge of her dog, a Shar Pei mix, by her side even though the canine was still asleep. After a few minutes Carter let out a shaky breath and sat up. The sweat on her arms and face started to cool from both fans circulating air in her room.

"Shit." Was all she mumbled before she felt the dog wake up and start sniffing her owner to see what the problem was. Carter gave her a few pats on the head to comfort the dog before she got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, dog in tow. There was no point laying in bed when she knew she wasn't going back to sleep so she might as well start her day.

In the bathroom she looked up to the sky light that glowed blue. Just enough light to make out the bags under her gray eyes. She stood there a little longer, examining her reflection. From the black hair that just barely went past her breast to the hour glass figure to the over sized T-shirt she used as her night gown. A shirt that made her look like nothing but skin and bones.

Once she had brushed her teeth and hair she walked back into her room to grab her glasses on the nightstand by her bed before she looked to the digital clock that read 5:45 AM. She let out a deflated huff with 'really' flowing with the breath out of her mouth. If she had better dreams, she would've slept for another four hours. Four hours that she knew would come back to bite her on the rear when she had to go into work later that night.

"This is some bullshit." She whined before grabbing her pack of cigarettes on the way out of her room. As she walked through the dark house she could hear the distinct sound of her cat meowing in the kitchen, wanting her usual treat. Carter ignored the wailing cat and instead opted to walked out the front door.

As soon as she had finished her cigarette she walked back in and made her way to the kitchen. After she had given her cat the treat she then let the dog outside to do her business.

Suddenly flashes of her nightmare started to come back causing her breath to stutter for a few seconds before she pushed the images to the back of her head. She knew how to block out the horrid dream due to the fact that she had been having the same nightmare for the past week. Every night without fail, without change and definitely without mercy. It was starting to worry her, if only slightly.

"Carter? What are you doing up?" Carter whipped around to see her mother walking into the living room, her scrubs already on for work. Carter's eyes made their way to the clock to show it was slowly making its way to 6:30 AM. Realizing her thoughts and made her loose time she shook her head before she hugged her mom.

"The nightmare was back and I knew I wasn't going back to sleep any time soon." Carter admitted before they broke away from the hug.

"Oh Baby, I'm sorry. I wish I could make it all better." Her mother soothed as she ran a hand over her daughters face. Carter gave her a small smile before walking towards the back door to let the dog in.

"It's alright Ma. It's just a dream. It's not real or anything."

The house became quiet once more besides the shuffling of the two Sandrovitches. After seeing her mother off and telling her she would be coming home late, Carter decided to get dressed for the day and make her way over to her friend Scarletts house. While the rest of her friends would be asleep, she knew Scarlett would be up because she had to drop her little boy off at the elementary school right in front of Carters house.

* * *

"You had the nightmare again? Dude, that's no bueno." Scarlett and Carter were sitting in Scarletts garage when Carter told her friend about why she was up so early.

"I know, but there's nothing I can do about it." Carter explained as she propped her foot up on the chair in front of her.

"No, but I think that's a strong sign. Now don't you roll your eyes at me! I'm telling you, between your family history for messing with things in the past and what you've personally been through it's not a hard leap to make." Scarlett said before taking a sip of her hot coffee. Once she finished her sip she started to shake her head, blonde and brown hair flowing with the motions. "I would never dream of trying to alarm you, but it could be something serious." Carter let out a scoff.

"I highly doubt that. I've had nightmares before and I've had some stuff happen when I was younger but nothing to be concerned about. I mean, come on." Though she was trying to convince Scarlett that her dreams meant nothing, she was having a had time convincing herself. She shook off that though with a quick sip of her coffee.

"So, are you enjoying this break from darts?" Carter asked before her friends face lighted with excitement. Soon enough they were lost in their conversations and attempts to make the other one laugh until tears came that they didn't give a second thought to the grave conversation that took place.

* * *

As Carter was walking up to her house, she noticed a beat up El Camino parked right behind her white Jeep. Curious as to why her father had company over she cautiously walked up to her front door. She couldn't hear any sound coming from the house, which was strange because her half deaf father would always have the TV sound blaring.

"I'm back!" She called out before locking the front door behind her. With her back to the living room she could hear her dog, Jewel, jump over the couch so she could sniff Carter to see where she had been. Carter gave her a few love pats before she looked up to see a stranger sitting on the couch across from her fireplace.

"Carter!" Her father bellowed. "Come meet this nice man from Pest Control!" He beckoned her with his hand as so not to get up from his spot. She made her way to the living room while keeping her eyes on the man. His hair, while not greasy, seemed to stick to his scalp while the scruff around his jawline seemed to bring more attention to his nose and ears. He stood up as soon as she was in front of him and stuck out his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." She couldn't tell if it was a drawl or a twang but she knew he had to have been born and raised in the south. She grabbed his hand and kept eye contact with him while she shook. "Name's Garth."

"Nice to meet you Garth." Carter gave him a smile as he started to gather his things that were on the coffee table.

"Well, I will have my supervisor contact you with a return date on when I'll be back and we'll have your house cleaned out in no time." His laughter was contagious to the point of a small smile making its way to Carters face. After a few more pleasantries Garth had left the Sandrovitch house. Once gone, Carter turned to her father, a thoughtful look on her face.

"When did you guys call Pest Control?" She leaned on the couch with her hip as she crossed her arms. Mr. Sandrovitch just threw up his hands.

"Your mother must've done it early today or during the week." Carter nodded her head, as though to look like she bought the story, but something seemed off. Then again, she had been feeling off since the whole nightmare thing. She took a big breath as though to exhale of the troubles on her mind before she clapped her hands together.

"Well, I'm gonna walk Jewel around the block. I'll be back a little bit later." She explained before she walked to the front door to get the dog leash. She nodded to her fathers usual 'be careful' warning before leashing up the dog- which had been following her exact footsteps since she came home. She then walked out the door, locked it behind her and let Jewel lead the way.

As she was walking away she couldn't help but feel as though this would be the last time she would be walking around the neighborhood.

* * *

The walk was quiet. Nothing unusually strange happened and yet Carter couldn't help but feel there was something horribly wrong going on. Everything just seemed too quiet even though the usual traffic of cars would pass by and the birds were still as loud as ever. It was enough to put her on edge.

"Maybe I just need a drink." Carter muttered as she and Jewel made their way back to the front door. Before the key slid into the lock she noticed her mothers vehicle was back in the drive-way. A smile came to her face when she realized she could speak with her mother before she went into work in 30 minutes. With that thought in mind she opened the front door and un-hooked Jewels leash. Though something strange happened. Jewel stayed by Carters side. The dogs short fur started to stand on end and Carter could see the bunching of skin on the Shar Pei mixes haunches.

Everything seemed to slow down.

Carter took a slow step inside the house and made her way to the living room. While any other time it would've been three steps to get to the couches, it felt like her foyer became an un-ending hallway. With Jewel never leaving her side, she kept her steps light and anything that dangled she kept pressed to her body. She finally made it to the couch only to freeze in mid motion before her mind went blank.

There, on the coffee table that Garth had picked his things up from, was nothing but the carcass of her black cat. The cat had been gutted with her entrails left on display on the table. Her eyes were glazed over while the mouth looked to be stuck in mid meow. Tongue hanging out of her open mouth.

A hand flew up to Carters mouth as she started to feel the hot sting of tears forming around the corners of her eyes. Her mind went blank as she looked at the feline. The same cat she had picked out in second grade. The cat that had a litter of kittens that she had fallen in love with. The cat that had moved with her to Houston when she needed the year away from her parents. The cat that would always sooth her, even when Jewel could not. Carter could feel her world start to shatter around her.

As she came back into the world, she could hear the dull barking of Jewel by she side. She looked down to the protective dog, wondering why her bark was so muted even though she was standing right next to Carter. Her next thought was _'What is she barking at?'_ before she slowly moved her head to look at the figure in the hallway.

It was Mrs. Sandrovitch in her scrubs, showing that she had just returned from work. Though Carter was more drawn to the knife in her mothers hand that was pointing towards her daughter. As though to question her, Carter looked up to her mothers face before she froze. She had expected to see hazel green eyes. Eyes that she should've gotten when she was born.

They were solid black.

"Mom?"

Suddenly, as though time snapped back like a rubber band, everything moved quickly. Too quickly for Carter to recover from her discovery of her mutilated cat. Hands grabbed her elbows and kept her arms pinned to her side while her mother walked up to her and put the knife to the young Sandrovitches neck. Pressure was added to the knife to show Carter that she shouldn't struggle but not quite enough to break skin. Carters wide eyes took in the way her mother moved, like a predator sizing up their prey before going in for the kill.

"That's enough." Someone called from the hallway Carters mother had come from. Her mother backed away from Carter and stood next to her instead, both bodies facing the person. He wore a black suit with a high collar. His wispy brown hair showed a receding hairline while green eyes drilled into Carters grey ones.

"So hard to find good help these days." He seemed to mutter to himself, his Scottish accent leaking through every word that he spoke. "The parents aren't the ones we're looking for so you can do whatever to their bodies but the girl." He took a few steps forward with a sly grin on his face. 'The girl is the one we're after." Carter could see her mother nod before the man in front of her nodded to whoever it was that was holding her straight. She felt slight movement before she was picked up like a rag-doll and then deposited on the couch, right in front of her dead cat. Soon enough the man walked around the couch as well and stood in the way of the fire place.

"Name's Crowley, and I'd just like to have a few minutes of your time."


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a bit of an FYI for you guys, this take place a little after 8.11: LARP and the Real Girl**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. I still need to work my way up to that level of character destruction.**

Chapter 2

San Antonio seemed like an easy hunt. Just some minor demon shenanigans going on. Open and shut case. At least, that's what Garth had thought. He had been in the area - in Austin with some witches - and thought he might as well just nip the blossoming demon flower in the bud before it got any worse.

Though these demons were something awfully strange. There had been no deaths (None that looked to be by the hands of demons) while minor crimes seemed to follow their footsteps. Loitering, noise pollution, smoking a cigarette too close to an establishment that had banned smoking. Nothing whatsoever like the demons Garth had been facing in the last couple of months. Hell, these guys were acting more like upstanding citizens then the people who actually lived there!

He hadn't taken into account that the demon sighting patterns were formed in a scouting formation. It just didn't occur to him when he was looking at the map. Nor did he notice that the scouting parties were moving tighter and tighter to each other with every sighting.

What he did see, however, was where the path was going to lead them next. A small town nestled in a crook of San Antonio called Windcrest. Seemed small enough that if something were to go down, it wouldn't be the annihilation of over 4,000 just to say 'Here we are'. Though it was still big enough for them to hide in. With a sigh Garth rolled the map back up before taking a big slurp of his chocolate milkshake on his table.

The place was had a nice rustic look to it and in Garths opinion, made some of the best crispy chicken and milkshakes in all of the United States. No sense to let the atmosphere go to waste with rushing out on a whim.

Of course, with these extra minutes of calm Garths mind wandered towards a certain prophet that was still bunking in his safe boat. With that thought he flinched. He didn't mean to just drop the guy off and then poof, out of sight out of mind. He just wasn't comfortable with sticking in one place for too long. A problem that was starting to surface since he took on the role of new 'Bobby'.

It wasn't like Garth was hating it. He loved it! He was finally useful to other hunters who would willing call him if they needed help. In all honesty, his new job was the reason he would wake up every morning with a smile on his face. The problem was that he wasn't like Bobby who would stay in the house surrounded by all of his books. Garth had to be doing something.

He would stop by every once in a while, just to check up on Kevin. He just didn't have the heart to tell him that the only reason he was checking in was because there was a case nearby that he had just finished up.

He was soon nudged out of his thoughts when he saw his waitress heading back his way with a basket of crispy chicken. He smiled to the woman as she placed his entree down before walking away, leaving the hunter alone to eat his meal.

* * *

The neighborhood was nice besides the speed limit that deemed it be 20 mph. He had already talked with the police in the area and ended up with bupkis. He was now combing through the streets to see if any houses seemed out of the ordinary. He scratched at the high collar that came along with the pest control uniform he scored from a shape shifter case not but four weeks ago.

He had been itching to take it for a test run.

He laughed at his own little pun before one of the houses caught his eyes. It was a yellow bricked house that looked like it was trying to rip itself apart from the inside. Each corner pulled away from the middle while the sides seem to smash together to keep it in place. He couldn't see it but Garth was sure that there was a line of shingles bunched up together in the back of the house.

Usually things like foundation problems wouldn't bother the hunter, but this house seemed to be the only one with this problem. The other two houses next to it seemed right as rain. There were even gardens in the neighbors yard while the deformed on looked like it was trying to grow purple weeds in the little patch of ground right under the huge window shrouded by curtains.

Deciding this was the house Garth pulled his Ford Ranchero behind a white Jeep that saddled up against the curb of the house.

Making sure he had his story straight and the right ID on him he walked up to the house and rang the doorbell. Immediately he heard a rather loud barking going off on the other side of the wooden door. Suddenly he wasn't too sure if this was a good idea.

Soon enough an elderly gentleman with a salt and pepper mustache answered the door looking skeptical.

"May I help you?" His voice sounded southern, at least more southern then the usual Texas accent.

"Hello sir. My name is Garth and I'm with the San Antonio Pest Control. We're just going around and checking the houses we feel that are close to the danger zone so we can offer as much of a discount to the right people." He tried to make himself sound convincing but the way the owner of the house stared at him gave him an uneasy feeling.

"I didn't get any mail about that." Crap, a smart one.

"The flyers may not have made their way out here yet. I do believe Windcrest is on a different mailing system then San Antonio. I do assure you though, the sooner I can have a look around to assess the situation out here the sooner we can get it all fixed up." Garth gave the man a smile before the screen door was propped open to let the fake Pest Control worker inside the house.

As soon as he walked inside the house he could see a hand sized hole peeking out from the ceiling in the living room. Continuing his inspection he saw that there was another hole, this one much bigger then the one in the living room. This hole was situated at the entrance into the kitchen and was big enough for a small animal it get through.

"This holes are definitely a major hazard. How long have they been there?" Garth questioned walking underneath the largest of the holes.

"Oh, they pop out every once and awhile. It's been happening for years now. This foundation just needs to have work done on it." The man stated while crossing his arms.

Garth was going to ask him more questions when a sandy colored dog popped out from the back rooms and bound towards the two of them. Only when the dog saw that there was a complete stranger in the house did it start to walk with more caution in its steps. Garth knelt down and put his hand out so the dog could sniff it with a childlike smile on his face.

"Hey there pretty thing. What's your name?" The dog stuck out its nose towards Garth while still staying planted next to the older man.

"This is Jewel, she's my daughters dog." Jewel soon decided that Garth was friendly enough and started to lick his face, tail wagging.

"What kind of dog is she?"

"She's part Shar Pei part Ridgeback. And I guess she's also part Pit because none of the shelters would take her in when she first found her." Garth looked up from the doggie lovings he was getting.

"Found her?"

"Yeah, my wife found her walking along the streets when she was about 4 months old. We put up posters and knocked on doors but nobody would claim her so we just ended up keeping her." Garth nodded his head before he stood up, wiping his hands on his pants to get rid of the dog drool.

"That was mighty nice of y'all." Praised before the conversation continued. After 30 minutes of checking the house - the sulfur smell that came from the couches and the main bedroom put Garth on his toes - they settled down in the living room.

"Now, I have a few more questions to ask you if you don't mind. Just a few ore routine things and then I'll be heading out." Garth was sitting on the couch facing away from the door and towards the fireplace. The older man, Thomas is name was, sat on the couch perpendicular to Garths couch facing the flat screen T.V.

"Shoot." Thomas leaned into his seat and adjusted his feet slightly, being careful of Jewel who decided to lay in the corner the two couches made. Garth looked down to his note book.

"Alright, so I have scratching and creaking, is there any other weird noses that might be going on?" Garth asked, resting his arms on his knees.

"You'd have to ask the others. I barely hear anything after touring in Vietnam and stepping on a land mine. Took my right eye and the sound from my left ear."

"Others?"

"Oh yeah, my wife and daughter. Then again I think they just get slightly paranoid. My wife is with a patient while I think my daughter is working. I'm never too sure about her though. Tends to run off and not tell me anything." Thomas shook his head.

"And where does your daughter work?"

Thinking that Garth was just starting up some light chit chat, Thomas didn't hesitate at the question. "Oh, over at that bar on Walzem. Firehouse Pub and Grill is the name of the place. Though she's working as a waitress and not a chef which is weird."

"Weird how?"

"Well, she went to culinary school." As if to punctuate the statement, Garth heard the door unlock. Jewel, hearing the sound, shot up next to Garth on the couch with her front paws along the back of the seat.

"I'm Back!" Jewel used the couch as a launch pad as she hurtled towards the female voice. Garth, slightly stunned by the dogs sudden burst of energy, looked towards the woman walked through the door. Her black hair was up in a messy bun while her eyes were hidden by a pair of stylish glasses. Not the same picture from high school that he had casually seen on the picture table. In that picture she had blonde hair with braces. Slightly awkward looking.

"Carter! Come meet this nice man from Pest Control!" Thomas made sure that Carter could hear him with a voice that came from his diaphragm. Garth would remember not to stand so closely to him from now on. As Carter made her way into the living room, Garth started noticing something was off about her. The way she carried herself through her own home. Like she was afraid of every little thing. With Jewel jumping up at her from all of the excitement Carter seemed to be edging towards annoyance then fear. Once in front of him, the hunter stood up and offered his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." She grabbed his hand without breaking eye contact. "Name's Garth." She gave him a smile.

"Nice to meet you Garth." Figuring that he had stayed longer then he should have (Thomas was a real talker) Garth let go of her hand and started to pick up his things on the coffee table. He then turned to Thomas with a clap of his hands.

"Well, I will have my supervisor contact you with a return date on when I'll be back and we'll have your house cleaned out in no time." He looked between both father and daughter before heading towards the door. Thomas followed while Carter hung back in the living room.

"Thank you so much for coming out here and checking up on this stuff." Thomas unlocked the door and held it open.

"It was no problem." Garth ducked his head with a smile, accepting the thanks.

"Take care now. God bless!" The door closed and Garth could here the lock turn while he walked to his Ford. Deciding that he didn't need to look any further he made his way towards the motel he was staying at.

* * *

When 8 'oclock rolled around, Garth decided that he needed some food and found himself at the Firehouse Pub and Grill.

He wasn't stalking Carter. No! He just had to ask her a few questions that would've sounded weird while wearing his Pest Control uniform. Once he walked through the doors he saw that it was a pick your own seat type place. He walked around before finally picking a booth by the kitchen window. He could always hear the best bit of information from waitresses and cooks who would slip up. He often wondered why more people didn't do this when trying to find out information of things.

Once he sat down he pulled out Bobbies old journal, flipping through the pages. Something about that house seemed off, like he knew where everything was and that Carters room was right along the living room; but he knew he had never stepped foot in that house before.

After 30 minutes he gave up on leafing through the old pages. Seeing that his dessert was getting stale he quickly started to devour it while still enjoying it.

The bar was loud with fights and games that were going on. He could've sworn he also saw a poker room in the far corner but wasn't sure. It seemed like an extremely busy night. Though for having his head buried in a book, not once had he seen Carter. Brushing it off that she had been busy and was probably on the other side of the restaurant Garth started to leaf through the pages boredly.

_Flip_. Nothing.

_Flip_. Nothing.

_Flip_. No-wait a minute...

Garth pulled his face close to the passage. The words "SA Demon Scare" seemed to pop out at the hunter. As Garth continued to read, his stomach continued to drop.

_'I sent Roberts out to a small town in San Antonio for a demon haunt(when a demon makes itself known to torment its victim). Little girl by the name of Carter swears she heard someone unlocked the front door, dragged a cain along the living room wall and then disappeared. The mother had been possessed. Roberts found the demon and exorcised the demon. The only thing the demon had said was 'Protect the Portal'._

Carter. That house had dealt with demons before. A haunt no less! Those were usually just scare tactics but Bobby only has one entry of it. There could've been multiple happenings that they had no idea about. Now it made sense that Carter was afraid in her own house. She knew what was going on under that roof. Garth knew he had to talk to her soon.

Before he could wave down his waitress, the cooks started yelling out the window.

"Where the hell is Carter!"

"I don't know man! She's not picking up her phone!"

"Bullshit! She was at my house hanging out with Scarlett earlier today!" Garths blood ran cold. Quickly figuring out how much his meal was going to be he threw down the money before bolting out of the bar.

He was too late. He just knew it.

* * *

**Sorry about the long drawn out-ness of this chapter. Action in next chapter, Scouts Honor ***holds up 3-fingered salute*****

**Other then that I hope you're enjoying the story.**

**- Tel**


	3. Chapter 3

**Before this chapter gets going, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's reviewed. I never expected to get these messages before chapter 10 ****_on my first story!_**** You guys are amazing sauce and I love you all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. If I did we would've have seen Gabriels wings.**

Last time:

_"Name's Crowley, and I'd just like to have a few minutes of your time."_

Chapter 3

The air was still as light poured in through every window from the setting sun. The Grandfather clock chimed 5 times letting its familiar melody fill the house. It would have been a warm and inviting sight if Carter wasn't sitting across from a stranger with her parents watching her with pure black eyes. The stranger, Crowley he mentioned, seemed to be sizing her up. Tilting his head this way and that. Not looking at her features but something more. Like he was looking at the soul itself.

All warmth left her body as his eyes roved over once more time.

"You'll have to excuse the crass introductions. I hadn't prepared meeting you until later but my agenda was pushed forward." He snapped his fingers which caused the logs in the fireplace to spring to life with fire, as though it was his own pet. Carter jumped at the sudden combustion while Jewel whipped her head to the new light source. Of course now with the fire behind him, Crowley looked like he was towering over Carter. She swallowed, trying to add moisture to her dry mouth, while looking up at him.

"How do you mean '_meet me_'? How do you even know me?" Her voice quivered. He just smirked.

"I know all about you Carter Ann Sandrovitch. And you're little dog too." He mimicked a witches voice while scrunching his upper body together before straightening out to, what Carter was now calling, his lean. "You've been in my sights since I got the job."

"Job?"

"Oh, didn't I mention? I'm the King of Hell and your parents are, well they're indisposed right now because my demons have made a home in their meat suit." Carter looked to her father, the one who put her on the couch, and cringed when all she could see was black. Both demons continued to look straight a head. She looked back to Crowley.

"Then why does the King of Hell have his eyes on me?" She didn't want to know. God how she wished not to know, but Crowley seemed like the guy who was too full of himself that if given the chance, he would talk all night. Maybe long enough for someone to notice how she wouldn't be going to work tonight.

"Well, it's not so much you but your family. You see a while ago there was some king that was getting too big for his britches so your family made a deal. It wasn't a regular deal though, it was a world altering deal. So, the price was a little higher then just one soul." The fire flickered and popped as the sun finally set. The only light now came from the fireplace.

"A generation deal." Crowley let out an impressed smile.

"You _are_ a smart one! I knew you were the better pick." He chuckled.

"But what is the deal?" She was starting to get a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Let's just say you're very important for my business and I'd rather not have you out of reach. So I'm going to have these goons watching over you until I'm ready to take you under my wing, so to speak." He started to slink away to the front door after his declaration. Realizing he would be leaving, Carter jumped up to follow only to have her 'father' push her back down in the couch.

"You still haven't told me what the deal was!" She cried out, desperate to know why she was being brought into this madness. "Seeing as I'm a big part of whatever you need, I have a right to know what you need me for!" Her throat was tight and coarse from the fear she had been stewing in. He let out another chuckle.

"I know I didn't. No use in you knowing too much, wouldn't you agree." He snapped his fingers and then was gone. Carter continued to stare at the spot, wishing he would come back. While she wasn't very fond of the King of Hell, she could get more of a read on him then the two demons watching over her.

She shrunk in her seat as one of the demons, the one in her father, turned to her with an evil smile on his face. The other demon noticed and grabbed his arm.

"No, you heard him. We have to watch over, not play with."

"He didn't say anything about her body. He just wants her soul's energy, not the bag of meat. We could have a little fun." Her mother shook her head.

"I don't want to take that risk. I like my head where it is, not on a silver plater that would be served to Crowley." The older Sandrovitch sneered before ripping his hand away form his cohort.

"I'll do what ever I damned well please and there's nothing you can do about it!" He yelled, using a tone of voice that made Carter flinch. She would've stayed strong if it was anyone else but she had only heard her father talk in that tone very rarely and usually at her. It was natural instinct to flinch away. When she did, however, she failed to notice her father had rounded on her cowering figure. She looked up to his sneering face before he brought his hand down on her face. Hard.

She saw Jewel go after the man's legs before blacking out.

* * *

_CRACK_

_Fizzzz_

_POP_

Carter twitched her face away from the sound, eyes closed the entire time. The movement caused a sharp cold pain to run down her body. She winced at the sudden shock only to have the pain intensify tenfold. After a few moments the pain subsided but Carter was left breathing out of her mouth so she wouldn't aggravate the ache. She started to open her eyes only to find that her left eyes would only open a fraction of the way, pressure around her eye stopping the rest of the movement. Putting two and two together she came to the conclusion the left side of her face was swollen. She then remembered why her face was swollen.

She looked around. The sun had already set so the fire was the only source of light which made every corner a live shadow, dancing with the flames. She couldn't see the demons or Jewel. Continuing her search of the area, she found she was tied to a wooden chair with no arms, hands strung up behind her back and feet to the legs of the chair.

"Really?" She let out a breath, trying to wiggle her chair around to look behind her. She would've been successful if a strong hand didn't grab the back of the chair, halting all movements she was making.

"I see you've woken up." Her father's voice met her ears. Her face became stonewalled.

"I'm telling you, we're going to get in trouble for this. She seems like a squealer." Her mother's voice. Soon enough, both walked into her sight of vision from opposite sides of the young Sandrovitch. She continued to stare straight ahead.

"Well then, we'll just have to make it so bad she won't want to talk about it." Thomas heckled before slinking towards Carter, a steak knife dancing through his fingers. Carter broke off her eye contact with the wall to watch the knife, secretly hoping that it would slice up the demon's fingers.

"Well, if you put it that way." The other demon reached behind her and withdrew a 9 inch chef's knife.

Carter's own knife.

"Look, you got her to change colors!" Carter's face had lost all blood flow at the thought of being mutilated by her own knife but she kept quiet. While Thomas thought that was impressive, Mrs. Sandrovitch became deflated.

"But she didn't make a sound!" The demon whined, slouching to the right with all of her weight on her right leg.

"It's alright, we have all night." Thomas purred making his spouse's face fill with hope. Thought in mind she walked over to Carter and started to slide the knife's edge over their captive's skin. Not breaking the skin, more along the lines of flirting with the white epidermis. Carter flinched away from her own cutlery, nostrils flaring as her breath hardened. Her fingers dug into the rope binding them, trying to loosen the hold so she could free them. Both demons let out a whoop of joy.

"Would you look at that!" Thomas yelled while the other demon just gave Carter a lustful smile.

"Just think of all the blood we're going to see tonight." The gleeful whisper that danced in front of Carter caused bile to rise up to her throat. She held back her gag, eyes rolling up to the ceiling so she didn't have to look at her own mother's face.

Not the right move.

The demon, not appreciating the lack of focus on Carter's part, slashed the knife over Carter's left thigh with a quick flick of her wrist. Inside to out. Carter let out a high pitched whelp before gluing her lips and eyes shut.

"Oh, look at her being the strong solider. We'll fix that." Another slash, this one deeper then the first and down her right arm. The cut went from the shoulder down to the elbow. This time Carter let out a grunt, face shooting upwards and eyes shut. Both demons let loose a chuckle.

"And the fun begins."

* * *

After an hour or two the demons left Carter alone to let the wounds set in. While earlier she would've given anything to get a break form the torture, now she wanted them to come back. With every new scar was a new distraction from the open wound prior to it. Now she was littered with the cuts and feeling them all burn at once was not an experience she would want repeated. Along with the first leg and arm wound she had little nicks along her neck, one under her right eye, one on both knees to where she could see bone peeking through, two following her collar bone that both lead to the longest cut she had which was on long slice from the middle of her collar bone all the way down her sternum. While the demons stayed away from the vital organs they weren't being as cautious about her blood loss. She had become deathly pale with her lips starting to turn blue. It was a strange sight with the red swell on one half of her face.

Carter was terrified. She was being cut up by things that wore her parents like suits. She knew they weren't going to kill her any time soon. She had no idea if her dog was alive and it wasn't likely anyone was going to be saving her anytime soon. She let out a defeated chuckle before lolling her head to the side to watch the embers to her right. It was strange to think that a few hours ago she had been walking Jewel before. It was strange to think she was missing work right now.

It was strange to think her friends had no idea what was happening to her and were probably off laughing somewhere.

"Oohh Carter~. We're baaack~!" The sing-song voice was the last straw and Carter began to weep. She couldn't continue to be strong without a reason. It was impossible. Both demons, having found Carter's wide array of knife selection, rounded on the poor soul brandishing a knife.

"Aw, how sweet! She's so happy to see us that she's _crying_!" They looked at each other with hollow joy, laughing at their joke. Carter couldn't stand it. She just wanted to die right then and there.

Suddenly there was a frantic knock at the door. All three heads whipped to the sound.

"Carter! Are you in there?!" Garth. That was Garth's voice. For a split second Carter let a relieved smile grace her face. It wasn't until Thomas started stalking towards the door did Carter realize Garth was in terrible danger. Just as she was going to scream for him to go away a hand was placed firmly on her mouth. Her eyes slid over to see her mother putting a finger to her mouth, telling the woman to stay quiet. Carter rolled her eyes back to Thomas to see that he had maneuvered himself to where he could open the door without showing Garth what was going on. He turned on the porch light before opening the door.

"Can I help you?" Carter started to wriggle in her seat to get herself free until she felt the cold steel of her knife at her throat.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you this late Mr. Sandrovitch but I'm worried about Carter." Idiot! Why couldn't he tell that wasn't her father?

"Oh? Why are you worried about my darling little Angel?"

"Well, she didn't show up to work today. She didn't seem ill when I came by earlier so it was a little strange-"

"Wait, are you telling me you were _at_ my daughter's work and _noticed_ that she wasn't there?" Carter could hear Garth stuttering with a response. "Son I think it best that you mind your own damned business."

"I am so sorry sir. If I could just see that she's alright then I promise-"

"I don't think I need any promises from you. I won't tell you again. Leave." She had to call out to him. Had to! In a last effort she opened her mouth wide, wider then the demon had thought possible, and bit down on the old hand. The demon let out a howl, yanking her hand to her chest to cradle it.

"Garth! Get out _now_!" That was all she could get out. The demon recovered and lunged towards Carter, making both of them tumble to the floor.

"You little Bitch!" The demon screamed as she started to strangle Carter. With Carter's hands still behind her back she started to panic. Blackness was creeping into sight and she knew she would pass out soon. Suddenly, the demon was ripped away from her and air was introduced back into her system. She was too busy trying to get enough oxygen in her lungs that she barely noticed something was tugging at the rope.

"Garth?!" Carter's voice was hoarse and filled with panic as she tried to look around for the man.

"I'm here Carter, don't worry." He was behind her trying to untie the knots. After a few frustrating seconds of fumbling Garth grabbed a small knife that the demon had dropped when tackling Carter to the ground and cut through the ropes. Once she felt her hands were free Carter wriggled her left arm from under the chair before both hands flew up to her throat. Guarding it from anything and everything that would try to choke her again. She felt Garth at her side.

"Carter, we need to move. Now!" It was too late. The demons were back and they were not happy. Thomas grabbed the back of Garth's jacket before throwing him into the glass sliding door that led to the patio. He then followed the hunter outside, playing with his new prey. In the house the other demon was on Carter, trying to choke her once again. Carter's hands would not budge from their spot.

Out of the corner of her eye Carter saw the knife Garth had used to free her. Knowing that if she reached for it now the demon would just push it away, Carter bucked her hips up and to the side making the demon roll away. With this new freedom Carter rolled onto her stomach and grabbed the knife. She could hear the demon scrambling back to finish the job and without thinking, Carter rolled back with knife at the ready.

It didn't miss.

The knife, a small 3 and a half inch paring knife, had gone right into Mrs. Sandrovitches neck. Both attacker and attackee were stunned for a split second before the demon gave Carter a Cheshire cat grin.

"Did you really think _that_ was going to work?" She grabbed ahold of the knife, with Carter's hand still holding on to the weapon, and slid it out of her throat. The blood glistened in the moonlight that was shinning through the window and Carter felt bile start to rise again. Without letting the demon gather her thoughts Carter quickly slammed her skull into her head. The demon reeled back, the palm of her hand pressed harshly to the spot where she had been hit. Seeing her opening Carter rolled onto her stomach before lifting herself to her feet and running to the back rooms. Knowing the demon was hot on her heels Carter dove into her parents bed room before slamming the door shut. The thud on the door proved that she was right. She kept her back to the door making sure the demon couldn't get in.

She looked to her right to see the reason she had ran back there in the first place. Next to her was a 12 gauge shot gun already load just leaning against the wall. Her father had many guns hidden throughout the house but this was the one that could do the most damage. She grabbed the gun and cocked it, letting the demon know she was loaded. A fools thought that maybe the demon would go away after hearing the _chu-chink_ of the gun.

It didn't work.

The demon continued to throw her body into the door to force it opened. Carter moved herself around so that her feet kept the door closed. After a few moments Carter drew back her feet and let the demon fall into the room.

Right on top of the barrel of the shot gun.

Without a moments hesitation Carter pulled the trigger. Her mother's body flew back into the hallway and landed on the floor in a heap. The ringing in Carter's ears caused her to wince but didn't stop her from standing up. Once up she leaned against the door frame, watching her mother's body for any movements. Any arm twitches, chest movements, finger taps. Anything like that. The body remained still. After a few moments of baited breath she took a step forward.

Her mother came back to life.

Carter jumped back, rifle aimed at her own mother's head should she advance any further, but she didn't. The demon tried to move the body but for some reason or another she could only move her arms. She snarled and snapped at Carter, throwing profanities her way, but Carter knew they were all empty threats at this point. Carefully Carter walked around her mother to look for Garth and her father. Both were outside and trading punches. She cocked the shot gun before making her way outside.

Carter wasn't stupid. She knew she had neighbors and she knew they had heard the first round being emptied. Not to mention she lived a few block away form the neighborhood police station. She also knew that this thing wouldn't be going down any time soon. She knew what she had to do.

She watched as the demon had Garth on the floor and was starting to kick him in the gut. A sadistic grin on his face the entire time. He was too busy to notice the young woman walking behind him. What he did registered was the feeling of a barrel to the back of his head. The kicking halted, giving Garth the small break that he needed. The demon turned his head slightly to the right to get a better view of Carter. He didn't get very far before Carter nudged the gun to his skull a little harder.

"Don't you even think about it." She growled at the man that was no longer her father. He smiled.

"Come on now angel, what are you doing? What are you pulling a gun on your old man for? I know I taught you better then that." More pressure was added to the gun.

"No, you didn't you lying piece of shit. My father did." She was holding back tears and the demon could hear it in her voice. He smirked before turning around, barrel pointed right between his eyes.

"But I _am_ your father. I would take you to the gun range every month and we would spend a whole day together. Just the two of us. Don't you remember that?" She didn't hold them back any more. The tears started to fall while her lips began to tremble. The demon was using her father's eyes instead of the pure black eyes. A dirty trick. She tightened her grip on the weapon once more.

"You are not my father." The tears were causing the small cuts to burn, making her more frustrated and more flustered. She wanted to scream. She wanted to fall to the ground and cry until her tears ran dry. She wanted to do _anything_ other then what she was doing right now.

"Carter Ann, I-" He didn't finish his sentence.

She had pulled the trigger.

* * *

**Holy crap that one was long! It was also overdue by a day because this was the hardest chapter so far. Not so much the small fights but more the building up _to _the fights. Not to mention I had to go through two Monster energy drinks before I finally finished at ***looks at clock*** 4:30 in the morning.**

**Well, it's off to bed for me. See y'all next week!**

**- Tel**


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